Apparatus for displaying samples of carpet, &amp;c.



No. 69|,43L Patented lari. 21,1902.

- vF.*1l\r|l::s 4

APPARATUSvFUH DISPLAYING SAMPLES 0F CABPET, &C.

(Application le'd Feb. 18, 1901.)

No.169l,43|. Patented lan. 2|, |902. F. AMES. APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYINGSAMPLES 0F CARPET, &c.

(Appxieaeion' mea Feb. 1s, 1901.;

s sheets-sheen v2.

(No Model.)

Tn:- Nomus sirius co. Mofo-Lamo.. wAsn-lmowu. o, c.

Patented 1an. l2|,v |902.

F. AMES. .APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING SAMPLES 0F GABPET,j-&c.

(L'pplcatien led' Feb. 18, 1901.)

6 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

1 imams paens co.. nom-umu., msmnsmn. n4 c.

` F. AMES. l APPARATUS FR DISPLAYING SAMPLES 0F CARPET, 81.6.(Applicafmn med Feb. 1s, 1901.;

(No M'odel.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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No. 69|,43Ll Patented la'n.v2|, |902.

F. AMES.

APPARATUS FR DISPLAYING SAMPLES OF CARPET, &c.

(Application led Feb. 1B, 1901.)

(N6 Model.)

6 Sheets-Shvet 5.

- Patented lan. 2|, |902. F. AMES. l APPARATUS FUR DISPLAYING SAMPLES 0FICABPET, &c.

(Applicationled Feb. '18, 1901.)

6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANKLIN AMES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING SAMPLES OF CARPET, 85C.

SPECIFEICATION forming part f Letters Patient N0. 691,431, dated January21, 1902.

` Application led February 18, 1901. Serial No. 47.748. (No'model To @ZZwhom, it 71mg/ concer-n:

Beit known that I, FRANKLIN AMES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of- Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Apparatus forDi'splayingSarnplcs ofCarpet, &c., of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel apparatus for displaying samples ofcarpet or other fabrics. Assuchsampleshavebeenhithertodisplayed tocustomers strips -say one and onehalf yards in length-are kept piled upand spread out over any available door-surface when required. After theyare inspected and a choice made they are gathered up one by one andstored away until the arrival of another customer necessitates theirbeing spread out again. This method is vexatious and wasteful, as it notonly requires the services of the boys to spread out the samples and togather them up,- but it takes up the time of the salesman and thecustomer while they are being spread ou t. Another vital objection tothismethod is the fact that a line.

of samples may be spread out upon the floor during a quarter to half anhour, during which time they may be Walked over and otherwise soiled, sothat in a very short time the samples are so dirty that another completeline' must be cut off, thus entailing a waste and loss.

In my improved method I hang the sam ples upon rollers arranged on oneor more sides of a room or any suitable space, preferably near theceiling in a room of ordinary height, and. arrange mechanism so that therollers can be rotated to let down the samples of carpet like a curtainwhen it is desired to display them and to roll them up where they willbe protected from dirt, &c. ,when notin use. I pref erably arrange inconnection therewith a series of hooded lights and reflectors, so thatthe carpet will be brightly illuminated, while leaving the rest of theroom less brilliantly lighted.

My present application is concerned with the apparatus by which I carryout my novel method.

Referring now to the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which the Samereference characters are used to designate identical parts in all theviews, Figure l is a plan View, partly diagrammatic, showing therelative arrangement of the rollers, the mechanism by which they aremanipulated, the counterweights which Inay be employed, and the lightsin section on the line A A ofl Fig. 2. interior side elevation insection on the line B B of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an interior end elevationon the line C C of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar View on the line D I) of-Fig. l. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showing the mounting andarrangement of the roller-sections. Fig. 6 is a sectional view on theline E E of Fig. 5, but on a larger scale. Fig. 7 is a sectional view onthe li-ne F F of Fig. 6, but on a still largerscale. Fig. 8 isasectional view through one of the rollers, showing how the hooks arearranged. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of one end of a roller-section.Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the adjacent end of anotherrollersection. 'Fig 1l is an end elevation of the roller shown in Fig.9. Fig. 12 is an end elevation of the interior of the cap on the rollershown in side elevation in Fig. 1l. Fig. 13 is a side elevation of acomplete roller-section. Fig. 14 is an enlarged detailin section on theline G G of Fig. 5. Fig. 15 is an elevation, on enlarged scale, onsubstantially the line H H of Fig. 2. Fig. 16 is a sectional View on theline J J of Fig. 15. Fig. 17 is a detail in elevation showing thearrangement of the movable supports where two or more parallel sets ofrollers are employed. Fig; 18 is a sectional view, on enlarged scale, onthe line K K of Fig. 17. Fig. 19 is a plan view of each side of thecentral portion of the apparatus,showing a modification. Fig. 20 is anenlarged detail, partly in section, on the line L L of Fig. 19. Fig. 2lis a plan View of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 20. Fig. 22is a section on the line M M of Fig. 20, and Fig. 23 is an enlargeddetail in section on the line N N of Fig. 19.

As shown in full lines in Fig. 1, I employ rollers 1, preferablyarranged on the four sides of a room or space and, if desired, allconnected by bevel-gears 2 at the corners, so that they may all herotated simultaneously to let down or wind up the samples onpall foursides at once. To rotate the rollers, as shown in Fig. 3, I preferableemploya crankhandle 3, suitably journaled on some convenient support, asthe pillar 4, at a suitable Fig. 2 is an IOO height, and I securethereon a sprocket-wheel 5. At a point above and preferably directlyopposite to the rollers I journal a double sprocket-wheel, consisting ofa smallwheel 6 and the larger one 7. On the adjacent roller I rigidlysecure the sprocket-wheel 8, which is larger than the wheel 7. Thewheels 7 and 8 are larger than the wheels 5 and 6, to which they arerespectively connected by the sprocket-chains 9 and l0, so that thepower required to rotate the rollers will not be so great. Of course itwill be understood that any other desired form of speed-reducing andpowertransmitting connections might be employed, as my invention is notconcerned with the speciiic mechanism by which the rollers are rotated.In order to counterbalance the weight of the sam ples,which isconsiderable, and thus lessen the labor of operating the mechanism, Iemploy one or more counterbalance mechanisms ll, one of which ispreferably located at each corner of the room. This balance mechanism ispreferably constructed as follows: Rigidly secured next to andpreferably integral with each of the bevel gear-wheels 2 on the siderollers l, as shown in Fig. 5, is a short helically-grooved winding-drum12, to which is secured one end of a rope or chain 13, which is wound upon said winding-drum as the rollers 1 are rotating to let down thesamples. The ropes or chains 13 pass around the horizontal pulleys 14and over the vertical pulleys 15, all of which are suitably supportedupon brackets secured to walls, pillars, or ceilings, as may be mostconvenient. The other ends of the ropes 13 are secured to the apeXes ofthe triangles 16 by the hooks 17, and the bases of the triangles lb areprovided with one or more hooks 18, which engage with the ends ofsections 19 of heavy chain, the other ends of which are secured by hooks2O to the cross-piece 2l, supported from its posts 22. When the samplesare rolled upfor instance, as shown in Fig. 4-their Weight is sodistributed that it does not tend to cause the roller to rotatein eitherdirection. When the samples are down, as shown in Fig. 3, their weighttends to rotate the roller in one direction and to prevent its beingrotated to wind them up. In the position of the chain shownin Fig. 4very little of its weight is on the rollers, but as its samples arelowered and the rope 13 drawn up the amount of the weight of the chainthrown upon the rollers increases in the same ratio as the effectiveWeight of the samples, so that in all positions the weight of thesamples tending to rotate the rolls in one direction is exactly balancedby the weight of so much of the chain as is thrown upon the rollers.This counterbalance mechanism serves to hold the entire apparatus in anyposition in which it may be placed and also makes the power required tooperate it uniform, whether itis being raised or lowered and in allpositions, as all the power required is that necessary to overcome theinertia, as the opposing weights are balanced.

To prevent the turning of the rollers any farther than may be necessaryto completely llet down the samples, I fasten on the rope 13 a stop 23,which, as shown in Fig. 4:, is made of two pieces secured together byscrews, s0

that it can be adjusted at any desired point 0n the rope to limit theamount of the samples that may be displayed. It will be understood, ofcourse, that this stop 23 contacts with an eye secured to the bracket25, supporting the pulleys 14 and 15, and through which the rope 13passes as the samples are unwound. It will be apparent that this stopprevents a possibility of the roller being turned so far as to not onlyunwind and display the samples, but to rewind them in the oppositedirection, or possibly permit them to fall off of the hooks to whichthey are attached. To prevent turning the rollers too far in the otherdirection, I provide on the endof the rolls the winding-drum 26, towhich is secured and upon which is wonnda rope 27, which passes over ahorizontal pulley and a vert-ical pulley similar to the pulleys 14 and15 and supported upon a bracket 28. This rope 27 has attached to itsother end a weight 29 and passes through an eye 30, secured on thebracket 23, and has the stop 3l adjustably secured thereon in the samemanner as the stop 23. Of course it will be understood that the rope 27is Wound up by the rotation of the rollers in the opposite directionfrom that which winds up the rope 13, so that as the rope 13 is wound upthe rope 27 is unwound, and vice versa. By the employment of thismechanism with adjustable stops it will be seen that I am enabled toarrange the mechanism for any desired'length of sample that it maybedesired to employ.

The rollers 1 are built up of sections 32, one of which is shown in sideelevation in Fig. 13. They are preferably constructed of wood and havethe groove 33 extending the length thereof. Secured in the bodyof theroller-sections at suitable intervals in the groove 33, as shown in Fig.8, are the books 3l, by which the sainples are attached to the rollers.It will be seen that the projecting portions of the hooks are entirelywithin the circumference of the cylinder, so that as the carpet isrolled up thereon there `wili be no protuberances formed where it passesover the hooks, and the hooks do not interfere with the movement of thesupporting-rings, to be described, along the rollers. One end of thesection has secured thereon the cap 35, which is preferably made ofmetal and may be secured in place by screws passing through the holes36, as well as by the screws 37 in its periphery. A recess 38 is formedtherein, which when the cap is in position forms a continuation of therecess 33 in the body of the section. A preferably square aperture 39 isformed centrally therein, into which passes the projection 40 ICO IIC

from the adjacent cap-piece 4l, which proj ection corresponds to theaperture in cross-section and tits snugly therein, so that power appliedto one section will rotate the other section and so that there will beno possibility of any angular displacement of one section relative tothe other'. The two caps 35 and 4l are similar in construction, and thebar or strip constituting the projection 40 is preferably secured in theaperture 39 of the cap 4l. Both of them are preferably formed with thecentral collars 42, which, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9, extendsome little distance into the body of the section, so that the utmostrigidity of the parts is secured. As will beV seen, the rollers l aremade up of these sections fitted together and having the bevelgears 2secured at their ends. They are supported at their ends by a bracketconsisting of the vertical tube 43, having at its lower end the arms 44and 45, projecting therefrom at right angles to each other and to thetube and having formed therein the bearings for the ends of the rollers.The tubes 43 have their upper endsinterlorly screw-threaded, and bymeans of a connecting tube or rod 46, having right and left handscrew-threads upon its ends and coperating therewith, and thescrewthreaded socket 47, secured to the ceiling, the exact height of theroller required may be readily secured, this adjustment being necessaryto overcome the possible unevenness in the ceilings to which they areattached. In the long rollers it is necessary to furnish intermediatesupports, and I preferably use two kinds of intermediate supports, onestationary and the other adjustable. The stationary support-for example,the one shown at the right-hand end of Fig. 5-consists of the customarysocket 47, the right and left hand screw-threaded connection 46, and anannular bearing 4S, embracing a collar 48, of smaller diameterthan thecap 4l, to which it is secured or with which it is formed integrally, asshown in Figs. 15 and 16. The annular bearing 4S has the screw-.threadedsocket 49, into which the connection 46 fits, and the collars 43a areapplied only to the roller-sections adjacent to the stationary supports.It will be observed that these stationary supports can only be appliedat the ends of the roller-sections, and in order to prevent any waste ofspace on the roller, which would necessitate leaving unsightly gaps, itbecomes necessary to make some of the supports movable. As will be seenin Fig. 3, the samples usually consist of the body portions 50 and thecorresponding borders 5l. It may happen that a line of carpet, either ofthe border or bodyportion, becomes exhausted, when the sample must beremoved, in which case it becomes necessary to rearrange the samples inorder to prevent a gap appearing. It may occur, too, that the samplesare of different widths. To overcome this diflculty,

I employ the adjustable supports, which, as is best shown in Figs. 5 and6, consist of the customary connecting-piece 46, an annular bearing 52,the construction of which will be explained in detail later, and a T-shaped socket 53, which can be secured by the setscrew 54 in any desiredposition on the horizontal bearing rod or tube 55, secured above theroller to the ceiling, as by the elbows 56 and the sockets 57, andparallel to the roller. The mechanism herein described provides for avertical adjustment of the annular bearing 52; but in order to securethe absolute accuracy of the position of the rollers and supports, whichis essential to smooth working, I provide means for adjusting theannular bearing 52 horizontally, which means consist of the yoke 58,pivotally connected thereto, as shown, and having the screw-threadedconnection 59 and the T-shaped socket 60 adjustable upon the supportingrod or tube 6l, which corresponds in structure to the rod 55. The ring52, as is best shown in Figs. 6 and 7, consists of the outer portion 62,having a groove 63, preferably semicircular in outline, on its interior.Inside of this ring 62 is another ring 64, whose diameter is justsufficient to fit snugly upon the body of the roller, so as to turn withthe roller. On its peripherythis ring has a groove 65, preferablysemicircular, opposite to and corresponding with the groove 63. Achannel 66, the position of which is'shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6,leads from the exterior of the annulus 62 to the channel formed by thegrooves 63 and 65 and is used for the purpose of introducing theantifriction steel balls 67 into the channel and may be closed when notin use by the screwthreaded plug 68. By this construction it will beseen that I have produced a bearing for the roller-sections that runseasily and does not wear the surfaces of the rollers, as all the Wear ison the grooves and balls. It will also be apparent that with thisconstruction I can4 locate the support at any position which may benecessary to accommodate the different widths of the samples to bedisplayed.

Referring to Fig. l, 69 represents the shades for lights, which aresuspended from the ceiling and serve to throw a bright illumination uponthe samples when theyare down in the position shownin Fig. 3. By the useof this arrangement of the display apparatus and of the lights I amenabled to produce a very striking effect in the display of the goods,which adds greatly. to the ease of taking orders for them, as well asmaking the display instantaneous and keeping the samples clean andunworn.

If desired, it will be apparent that I may use more than one roller toeach side of the room and that I may group them as shown in dotted linesin Fig. l, in which a ,series of three sets of rollers are shownarranged one within the other and upon the same horizontal level. Incase it is desired to use operating mechanism similar to that shown forthe fullline set of rollers the necessary additional operatingrmechanismmay be located in any IIO convenient position and attached to theinterior rollers, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. I.

In case two or more sets of parallel rollers are used I preferablymodify the construction of the adjustable supports, as shownin Figs. 17and 1S. In such a case I dispense with the auxiliary rod or tube 61 andplace the socket 60 or its equivalent upon the rod or tube 55 of theadjacent roller. In this case in order to permit of passing the sup-yports by each other, as may be necessary in arranging the differentsamples, for the T- shaped socket 60 I substitute a hook 7 O,which canbe lifted off of the rod 55, upon which it placed. If desired, aset-screw 7l may be passed through the hook 70, so as to prevent anypossibility of the hook being accidentally displaced.

In some cases I desire to divide a line of samples into two or moregroups, which can be operated either together simultaneously orseparately at different times, as may be desired. Such a modification ofthe apparatus is shown in Figs. 19 to 23, where I have shown the samplesas divided into two groups, each group constituting all the samples onits side of the center of the room. In Fig. 19 the dividing-line is at NN, and the two halves above and below the line can be operatedsimultaneously or separately by the actuating mechanism, (shown asmounted upon the pillar 4 in said figure.)

A sprocket-Wheel 72 is connected to one of the rollers 14 in one half,While a sprocket- Wheel 73 is connected to the adjacent roller in theother half. Both are connected by sprocket-chains lO withsprocket-wheels 6, j ournaled on opposite sides of the pillar 4, andthese sprocket-Wheels 6 have rigidly secured thereto the largersprocket-Wheels 7, which have the sprocket-chains 9, connecting themwith the sprocket-wheels 5, journaled near the bottom of the pillar 4.This speed-reducing and power-transmitting mechanism thus far describedis the same as that previously described; but instead of fastening thehandles 3 directly to the sprocket-wheels 5 I secure to each of saidwheels another larger sprocketwheel 74, which is connected by asprocketchain 75 to a smaller sprocket-wheel 76, secured upon a shaft77, mounted to rotate in a suitable bearing 78, projecting from thepillar 4 and having the handle 3 secured to the outer end thereof. Asseen in Figs. 20 and 21, the adjacent inner ends 79 and 8O of the shafts77 are squared off to receive a sleeve 8l,which has thecorrespondingly-shaped passage therethrough. The sleeve 81 is intendedto stand either in full-line position of Fig. 20, in which case powerapplied to either handle 3 will operate only its half of the samples, orin the dotted-line position, in which if power is applied to eitherhandle 3 all the samples will be operated. To hold the sleeve yieldinglyin either position, I form the pocket 82 in the interior of the sleeveand place in said pocket a plunger 83, pressed by a spring 83', Whichcooperates with the notch 84 Gr.85, depending upon Which position thesleeve is in. Where the roller-sections forming the ends of the groupsare connected, as on the lineN N, instead of having the squaredprojection 40, which compels the adjacent rollers to move together, around projection 86 is substituted,which permits the twogroups to moveindependently of each other, as desired.

While I have shown my invention as embodied in the apparatus which I atpresent consider best adapted to carry out its purposes, it will beunderstood that it is capable of some modifications and that I do notdesire to be limited in the interpretation of the following claimsexcept as may be necessitated by the state of the prior art.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

1. In an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of samplesfor comparison, the combination with the roller, adapted to have aplurality of samples hung therefrom side by side, of means for rotatingsaid roller to simultaneously display or roll up all of said samples, asmay be desired, and counterbalance mechanism attached to said roller tobalance the weight of said samples in all stages of the winding thereof,substantially as Yand for the purpose described.

2. In an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of samplesfor comparison, the combination with the roller having the groovetherein, means in said groove for detachably securing a plurality ofsamples side by side to the roller, of means for rotating said roller tosimultaneously display or roll up all of said samples, as may bedesired, and a counterbalance mechanism at each end of said rolleradapted to be raised as the samples are lowered to balance the weight ofsaid samples in all positions of said samples, and vice versa.

3. In an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a pl uralityof samplesfor comparison, the combination of a plurality of horizontal rollers journaled in the saine plane,each roller being at an angle to theadjacent rollers and adapted to have a plurality offsamples hungtherefrom side by side, with bevel-gear connections between saidadjacent rollers, counterbalance mechanism for said rollers to balancethe weight of said samples in all positions thereof, and means forrotating said rollers simultaneously to simultaneously display or rollup all of said samples; substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of samplesfor comparison, the combination of a plurality of horizontal rollers journaled in the same horizontal plane, each roller being at an angle tothe adjacent rollers and adapted to have a plurality of samples hungtherefrom side by side, with bevel-gear connections between saidadjacent rollers, means for rotating said rollers simul- ICO IIS

taneously to simultaneously display or roll up all of said samples, anda counterweight mechanism consisting of the winding-drum securedadjacent to one of said bevel gear- Wheels, a rope Wound on saidwinding-drum, and a variable Weight attached to the rope, substantiallyas described.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the'combination with theroller, of a movable support therefor consisting of the horizontal rod55, the T-shaped socket 53 adjustable tliereon,the annulus embracingTthe roller and having the socket thereon, and the screwthreadedconnecting-piece 46 between said sockets.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with aroller, ot' a movable and adjustable support therefor consisting of thehorizontal rods 55 and. 61 having the T- shaped sockets 53 and 60adjustable thereon, the ring having a rigid socket thereon and theconnecting-piece and another socket pivoted thereto, and theconnecting-pieces 46 and 59 coperating with said sockets and having theright and left hand screw-threads on their ends, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with aplurality of parallel rollers, of a plurality of horizontal rods 55suspended above said rollers, and the vertically, longitudinally andlaterally adjustable supports, the mechanism for adjusting the supportslaterally consisting of the yoke 52 engaging the supports, the hook 70engaging an adjusting-rod 55 and the adjustable connecting-piece 59between said yoke and hook, substantially as land for the purposedescribed'.

8. In an apparatus for the purpose described,the combination with theroller adapted to have a plurality of samples hung therefrom, of meansfor rotating said roller to display or roll upv said samples as may bedesired, and an adjustable stop mechanism for limiting the extent ofrotation given to the roller.

9. In an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of samplesfor comparison, the combination With the roller adapted to have aplurality of samples hung therefrom side by side, of means for rotatingsaid roller tosimultaneously display or roll up said samples as may bedesired', counterbalance mechanism attached to said roller to balancethe Weight of said samples in all positions thereof, and stop mechanismconnected to said counterbalance mechanism for limiting the unwindingmovement of the roller.

10. In an apparatus for simultaneously dis playing a plurality ofsamples for comparison, the combination'with the roller adapted to havea plurality of samples hung therefrom side by side, of means forrotating said roller to simultaneously display or roll up said samples,as may be desired, counterbalance mechanism attached to said roller tobalance the weight of said samples in all positions thereof, and stopmechanism connected to said roller to limit its movement for winding upsaid samples.

1l. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination with theroller adapt ed to have a plurality of samples hung therefrom, of meansfor rotating said roller to displaying a plurality of samples forcomparison,

the combination with the roller adapted to have samples hung therefromside by side, of means for rotating said roller to simultaneouslydisplay or roll up said samples, as may be desired, and counterbalancemechanism attached to said roller to balance the Weight of said samplesand consisting of a Windingdrum, a cord to be Wound on said drum, achain attached to the other end of the cord and the support for saidchain from which it is raised when the roller is rotated to lower thesamples.

13. In an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of samplesfor comparison, the combination with the roller adapted to have aplurality of samples hung therefrom side by side, of a plurality ofsupports therefor, the intermediate ones of which can be movedlongitudinally of said roller, and means for rotating said roller tosimultaneously display or roll up all of said samples as may be desired.

14. In an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of samplesfor comparison, the combination with the roller adapted to have aplurality of samples hung therefrom side by side, of a plurality ofsupports therefor, one or more of the intermediate supports beingmovable longitudinally of said supports and consisting of the interiorring snugly tting on said roller, an exterior ring surrounding theinterior ring and antifriction-roller devices interposed between saidrings, and means for rotating said rollers to simultaneously display orroll up all of said samples as may be desired. y

FRANKLIN AMES.

Witnesses:

L. H. SHELLEY, J. H. MoELaoY.

IOO

IOS

IIO

